ELLE's Lettres: October

Our readers' nonfiction picks for the month

With the final monthly round of this year's Readers' Prize competition, we inaugurate the online edition of our readers' comments—giving us more space and a more flexible format for our 15 readers to air their views about each of the three books they have read for us.

A memoir of nine years of service in a psych ward paralleled by an account of her own coming-of-age and growing maturity, the first book by psychiatrist Julie Holland, who now has a private practice in New York City, edged out two titles by illustrious colleagues: a series of medical whatdunnits in a volume by Lisa Sanders, a professor at Yale's med school who moonlights as the "Diagnosis" columnist for The New York Times Magazine and as technical advisor to Fox channel's hit show, House M.D.; and a volume of suspenseful studies of near-death medical crises by CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta—a follow-up to his best-selling debut, Chasing Life.

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Now Holland's book vies for Grand Prix laurels as the Readers' Prize nonfiction book of the year against five earlier monthly winners: Results will appear in ELLE's December issue and right here online at elle.com.

1. Julie Holland, Weekends at Bellevue (Bantam)

Holland is no ordinary doctor in no ordinary emergency room. Weekends at Bellevue recounts her nine-year stint working at New York City's Bellevue Hospital in the psychiatric ER. From the young man who barks like a dog to the threatening prisoner to the suicidal gentleman who hears voices, each patient has a story—whether comical, heart wrenching, or bizarre—and Holland passes them along with humor and honesty but also with respect and compassion for each person brought through those ER doors.—Janet Gates, Troy, AL

The amazing thing about this book is that Holland doesn't just address the more extreme cases, but she touches on the insanity in all of us. She asks us to reach deep down inside ourselves and see if we don't have a crazy person hidden there.—Valerie Pagano, Katy, TX

This book is one part about the psychiatric patients at Bellevue and two parts about the coming of age of Julie Holland. After nine years of service in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, she finds that she still has a lot to learn about psychiatry but has finally begun to understand herself. The short chapters make this book a quick read, but they also tend to jump around, making me feel I am missing something important that would tie everything together.—Kate Esposito, Crofton, MD

Weekends at Bellevue reads like a long love letter Holland has written to herself. This narrative approach, though entertaining, is also distracting. We don't need to be constantly reminded how cool, tough, and self-aware she is. The memoir's structure is also stilted. For example, we hop from Holland showering a probable rape victim to her flirting with a colleague to the interview of another rape victim without mention of the careless organization of these memories. Instead, this smattering of incidents is the prelude to a chapter about Holland's promiscuous sex life and her turn-ons. And yet I couldn't put this book down. I'm not sure exactly why I warmed to Holland, and where her story became captivating. Maybe it was due to her tendency to freely admit her faults; this memoir is an honest audit of her abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. It could also have been when an unruly patient punched her in the face, illustrating the risks Holland is determined to take simply to do her job. By the time she offered her unique perspective on what it means to be mentally sick in this country, I was definitely sold.—Sara Miller, Oceanside, CA

Who hasn't seen an NYPD officer in a Law and Order episode roll his eyes at a belligerent, irrational perp and intone, "We better send this one up to Bellevue"? With utterly compelling frankness, Holland takes us behind the locking one-way double doors to show us what happens next. She recounts with compassion not only the plights of poor and homeless schizophrenics who are off their meds and on the streets, but also those of the New Yorkers with whom she shared post 9/11 PTSD. As interesting as the stories of her patients are, what had me spellbound and turning pages were the intimate details of Holland's personal journey from Ivy League undergrad to Bellevue veteran, trailblazing psychopharmacologist, wife, and mother. Bravely, Holland shares her personal failures along with her triumphs. This is not only a must-read, it's a re-read.—Narci Drossos, Valdosta, GA

Holland wisely does not dwell too much on the technicalities of diagnoses and instead allows her story to emerge organically. In doing so, the book becomes more than just a log of Holland's time in the crazy house. She is at times brutally honest, sharing more about herself and the effects of the place on her than about her patients. Surprisingly, this is a good thing. She shares just enough personal information to show what makes her tick as a doctor and as a human being. It's a ride that is fascinating to watch.—Marie Robinson, Crofton, MD

Part memoir, part portrait of the many clients she has seen at Bellevue, Holland's book somehow misses the mark on both counts. The stories about the people who come into the psychiatric emergency room seem sensationalized, and her odd excitement over them is a little off-putting.—Sam Armstrong, Brooklyn, NY

Weekends at Bellevue seems to promise a glimpse into New York City's mentally unstable population. Unfortunately, it literally provides only a glimpse—Holland's brief diagnostic encounters with her emergency-care patients make for a series of unrelated and underdeveloped stories that leave the reader wishing for a more detailed depiction. Even mentions of Holland's personal life offer up only brief and curious details, like a crush on a fellow female doctor, several tawdry sexual encounters, and a few children thrown in like afterthoughts. The good doctor intersperses dialogue taken from her weekly sessions with her own shrink that one hopes will lead to a monumental breakthrough, but at the end of the book the reader is still uncertain where, if anywhere, this is going.—Kathryn Calderone, Arlington, VA

Sanders, a former television producer and current doctor, combines her past experience in storytelling with her present skills in diagnosis to give us an engrossing book about the medical mysteries she encounters at Yale Medical School. Sanders presents each medical case in the vein of Sherlock Holmes, providing clues, going down the wrong path (often with disastrous results for the patient!), and then finally arriving at the correct solution (and saving a patient's life in the process). Interspersed are lessons learned that are meant to reform the medical profession. These are sometimes digressive and tangential, but interesting nonetheless.—Abby Fung, Boston

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Sanders explores a side of the medical world that is not only a distant memory but truly a lost art. In the high-tech world today, the personal side of medicine is often overlooked. With time at a premium, doctor visits are usually quick, rushed, and impersonal. Sanders explains how the business side of medicine often takes over the reason most choose to attend med school in the first place, and people and their illnesses are left waiting.—Christy Richards, Denver, CO

This book gave me some sympathy towards doctors: How difficult it can be to come up with a diagnosis. How part of it is a guessing game. The case studies are particularly interesting. Who knew there was such a thing as an abdominal migraine?—Bethany Showell, Beltsville, MD

Despite the eye-opening theories put forth by Sanders, the book is only passingly entertaining and oftentimes reads more like a textbook for those with a very specific interest in the subject.—Kathryn Calderone, Arlington, VA

There's no doubt that Sanders is accomplished in the medical field, but the awkward structure of Every Patient Tells a Story makes it too hard to locate an interesting storyline. There are glimmers, but they are fleeting. In between the handful of fascinating anecdotal diagnostic dilemmas, there's boring medical school and hospital practicum, and Sanders ultimately does nothing but lament the decline of the physical exam and of residents competent enough to perform one. According to Sanders, an encounter with an outstanding physician in American hospitals when you are very sick is a fluke. The only sentiment her book leaves me with is gratitude for my health.—Narci Drossos, Valdosta, GA

This book is oddly boring. While Sanders veers into House-like territory on occasion, she then all too quickly veers right back out again, leaving me wanting more (and not in a good way). It's not a bad book; it just didn't motivate me to keep reading. I gave up after a particularly repetitive section on the mysteries of Lyme disease.—Marie Robinson, Crofton, MD

Once I picked up this book, I was either reading it or talking about it. Gupta describes several unusual medical cases in detail and challenges ideas about medicine that I never considered even questioning, such as CPR techniques or the point at which someone is actually considered dead. Everything from hypothermia to prayer is discussed in a way that shows Gupta's passion for his work and for the advancement of medicine. And one thing is for certain: I will never look at death in quite the same way again.—Sam Armstrong, Brooklyn, NY

Gupta blurs the line between life and death in a way that most people would never think possible outside of a science-fiction novel and tells tales of experimental treatments that have incredible success rates but seldom see widespread use. With stories of therapeutic hypothermia and a modified form of CPR that can buy patients precious time, this book ought to be required reading in every med school in the country. My eyes welled up more than once in amazement at what the human body is capable of when combined with an unbeatable spirit and a curious mind. I have no doubt that this book could change the way the average person and the medical community view both medical standards of care and the finality of death.—Kathryn Calderone, Arlington, VA

Cheating Death is an incredibly well organized, informative, and educational little tome. It reads like a novelized cross between a Discovery health special and an episode of Rescue 911. The drama is there as Gupta details harrowing stories of near death intermixed with an accounting of the scientific possibility and theory surrounding all things death-related. Gupta surprises with medically dubious topics such as suspended animation, life after death, and miracles. It makes for a bizarre combination and an interesting read. Cheating Death covers a lot of technical subject matter, some of which is life-saving information, but Gupta takes the time to walk the layperson through his terminology. I can't think of anyone who would not benefit from this read.—Sara Miller, Oceanside, CA

You often hear about medical miracles or those who escaped death despite the odds. Gupta's tales go beyond the extraordinary to introduce potential new, albeit sometimes unorthodox methods of saving lives. Gupta examines the use of hypothermia to slow the metabolism—ultimately slowing down the process of death; the elimination of rescue breaths in CPR, moving the focus to performing chest compressions, and to preventative operations on those who have yet to be born. While Gupta's stories are gripping, there is often a soapbox element to it: It is an interesting read, but I'm not so sure how realistic.—Christy Richards, Denver, CO

There is a chapter in this book about how the technique of administering CPR changed drastically in recent years. It is a fascinating story more about the slowness of achieving change in the medical profession than about the technique itself. Sadly, that is the only chapter that truly stood out in this book. The other stories were largely forgettable, failing to make much impact. How the act of saving lives could be so ho-hum is surprising.—Marie Robinson, Crofton, MD

Gupta writes in a knowledgeable, albeit clinical and sometimes dry tone about patients who have been saved from the brink of death, narrating each medical miracle and then proposing reforms to the medical profession. However, Gupta's dry prose and digressive narration often obscure rather than elucidate these proposed reforms. In addition, there is a strange chapter in the book about near death experiences and references to voodoo and alien abduction that greatly diminish the reader's ability to take this book seriously.—Abby Fung, Boston

The subtitle of the book is "The doctors and medical miracles that are saving lives against all odds", and I found that without an exploration of the risks and drawbacks of "saving lives against all odds", the book was one-dimensional and superficial.—Jaime R. Herndon, Chapel Hill, NC

Gupta's stories of patients' survival against the odds both gave me hope and terrified me almost simultaneously.—Kate Esposito, Crofton, MD